The Blood Bairn archetype (a.k.a. Eating things is fun :D)

  Ah Blood Bairn. Behind that innocent (as innocent as a sack-outlet can be) visage lies a strong deck that can work for you quite well. This little girl is the card that ties it all together, being the common that would most likely win you the game. Now, in M14, she has a friend who just LOVES to hang out with her on the battlefield.

Now, being an uncommon, this relentless shambling skellie is much harder to come by than Blood Bairn. But if they do manage to hook up on the battlefield, it spells a heap of trouble for your opponent. For every 1B you pour into this guy, you get a Rootwalla that isn't restricted per turn. It's a fantastic deal and very abusable.

 Another few cards you want to see in this deck are Act of Treason, Barrage of Expendables, Gnawing Zombie, Bubbling Cauldron, and cards that like to die, such as Pitchburn Devils, Dragon Egg, and Festering Newt. The rest is pretty much Black goodstuff, with a splash for red. These cards are always a plus to see in a Blood Bairn deck, and will help you remove and kill your opponents creatures with ease. Act of Treason is perhaps the most important card to see in this archetype, since you can sacrifice your opponents creatures for added value, while swinging the boardstate in your favor. Another rather great common to draft in this archetype is Corpse Hauler, who lets you get back your Pitchburn Devils or Dragon Eggs, or even your key sack outlets at instant speed, whilst providing a useful block. Of course the staples in black such as Liturgy of Blood and Doom Blade are always welcome. As an added bonus, your Bubbling Cauldron can engineer a life swing of eight with Festering Newt. Quag Sickness is a good card to pick late since your deck would probably be heavily in black, splashing a little red.

Drafting the deck

 When you open your packs, your first few picks would most likely be black goodstuff, like Sengir Vampire and Doom Blade. A great thing about this deck is that since it's very specific, most cards like Tenacious Dead remain untouched well into the pack. Blood Bairns are also low importance to the other decktypes, and since blue is quite strong in M14, it's likely to be overdrafted, leaving less competition for you and your deck. However, be wary if your black picks dry out. This could likely mean that a player passing to you is in black, especially if it's pack 1 or 3, since you're passing in the same direction. If this does happen, it is imperative to switch decks. This deck type is one of the most narrow decks in this format, and without the right pieces, it can fall apart. A good guideline is that four picks into the second pack, if you don't have at least 2 Blood Bairns and an Act of Treason, it's time to play a more goodstuffy deck. Keep in mind my idea of drafting this deck is but a guideline, and you may still be able to get into the deck late.

Playing this deck

 When playing this deck, it's important to recognize the dead weight even in your own ranks, especially when the game goes late. A Gnawing Zombie can sack your team to win you the game! Especially against blue, Barrage of Expendables can be used to create a 1-for-1 situation with their X/1 fliers, a reasonable threat being Trained Condor. Sacrifice is a mechanic with a great deal of interaction, so it's important to note what you hold in your hand, as well as the on-dying mechanics of your opponents creatures, such as Messenger Drakes, which can generate you card advantage with Act of Treason. In M14, blue and white removal include Pacifism and Claustrophobia. An advantage of playing this deck is the ability to sacrifice the creatures that are frozen with these enchantments, for additional value.

Mulliganing and your opening hand

A good hand consists of about three lands, a sack outlet or general goodstuff in black or red, such as burn spells. Be wary of hands where none of the cards are easily castable, or are low in mana. Mana is quite the requirement in this deck, especially with cards such as Barrage of Expendables or Gnawing Zombie. You ideally want 5 mana by turn 5, while playing out your pieces. This isn't very readily available information in your opening hand, and Lady Luck may yet choose not to smile upon you. A good yardstick is about three land, as I've mentioned earlier.

This deck can be a lot of fun and rather frustrating for your opponent to play against, and I hope this article helped. Good luck with it, and above all, have fun!

Cheers,

Brick